Former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, surging from a 10-point deficit two months ago,
now leads former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons 44 - 34 percent in the Republican primary for the
Connecticut U.S. Senate contest, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This reverses a 37 - 27 percent Simmons lead in a January 14 survey by the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. In this latest poll, businessman Peter Schiff has 9
percent, with 12 percent undecided.

"What explains Linda McMahon's rise in the polls? Money. She is the only Senate
candidate on TV right now. She quickly has become as well-known and well-liked among
Republicans as the former frontrunner for the Republican nomination, three-term Congressman
Rob Simmons," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.

"In the general election, however, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has a
commanding lead over all three potential Republican opponents. Blumenthal's approval rating
continues near 80 percent. While money could make the difference in the Republican primary, it
will have less of an effect in the general election. It is very hard to change the public's opinion of
an elected official they have known and liked for 20 years."

Favorability ratings for other Connecticut U.S. Senate candidates are:

Connecticut voters say 46 - 36 percent they prefer a candidate who relies on campaign
donations, rather than a wealthy candidate who relies on his/her own funds. Results are similar
among Democrats, Republicans and independent voters.

The next Connecticut U.S. Senator should generally support President Barack Obama's
policies, voters say 56 - 36 percent.

Connecticut voters approve 54 - 42 percent of the job President Obama is doing,
compared to 55 - 41 percent January 14 and Obama's lowest score in the state since he was
inaugurated. Voters disapprove 52 - 42 percent of the way the President is handling health care
and disapprove 50 - 46 percent of the way he is handling the economy, but approve 54 - 39
percent of the way he is handling foreign policy.

Only 16 percent of Connecticut voters trust the government in Washington to do the right
thing almost all of the time or most of the time, while 53 percent say the federal government does
right some of the time and 30 percent say "hardly ever."

But only 23 percent of Connecticut voters say they are Tea Party supporters. That group
includes 50 percent of Republicans, 4 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of independent voters.

"While very few voters trust the government in Washington to do what is right most of
the time, President Barack Obama still gets a 54 percent job approval," Dr. Schwartz said.

From March 9 - 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,451 Connecticut registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. The survey includes 549 Democrats with a
margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points and 387 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5
percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201,
or follow us on Twitter.

7. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Richard Blumenthal and
Merrick Alpert, for whom would you vote?

21a. (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United
States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons,
Linda McMahon and Peter Schiff, for whom would you vote?

TREND: (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United
States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons,
Linda McMahon and Peter Schiff, for whom would you vote?

63. Do you think the government should or should not require all Americans
to have health insurance, either from their employer or from another source,
with tax credits or other aid to help low-income people pay for it?